"Special forces boarded and intercepted an Iranian arms vessel on the way from the Iranian port, Bandar Abbas, to the Sudanese port, Port Sudan," Ya'alon explained, "knowing that the end destination is the hands of the terror factions in the Gaza strip."

"This successful operation was led by the Chief of Staff, our Navy commander," he continued, "and implemented by the Navy, the air force - and, of course, our intelligence agencies. I congratulate them with great appreciation for their professionalism in the way that it was executed."

"What we learn from this operation is - first of all - that, as we call it, 'Hamasstan' is a terror entity - armed, trained, financed in many ways by Iran," the Defense Minister declared. "What we found in this specific shipment: rockets with a range or 90 or even more kilometers with warheads of 175 kilograms. It might be a threat for millions of Israelis in a major part of our country."

"What we also learned from this operation is the smiling Iranian regime covers with its smile, with its 'charm offensive,' rogue activities," Ya'alon continued. "The regime is the greatest exporter of terror all over the world - not just regarding Israel or the Gaza strip, but also Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, factions in Afghanistan and Iraq [. . .] all over the globe."

"This regime is still making progress in its military nuclear project, delivering and producing nuclear systems, longer-range missiles - threatening Europe, and threatening in the future the United States itself."

"We hope that this operation will be an awakening to the Western world, to the P5+1, in regard to the real intentions of this smiling, rouge regime," he concluded.